라플레시아는 꽃가루를 옮겨주는 파리를 유인하기 위해 고약한 냄새를 풍김으로써 파리를 질식시킨다. 일단 파리가 꽃의 가운데 부분에 들어오면, 라플레시아는 자신의 꽃가루가 파리의 몸에 충분히 묻을 때까지 밖으로 내보내지 않는다. 그리고 그동안 파리가 죽는 것을 방지하기 위해 약간의 꿀을 제공한다. 파리가 드디어 꽃가루를 흠뻑 뒤집어쓰고 나가면 다시 이 과정을 반복하며 수분(pollination)을 한다.
Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants.
It was discovered in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr. Joseph Arnold in 1818,
and named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition.
It contains approximately 27 species (including four incompletely characterized species
as recognized by Meijer 1997), all found in southeastern Asia,
on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.
The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots.
It is an endoparasite of vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae),
spreading its root-like haustoria inside the tissue of the vine.
The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower.
Rafflesia is an official state flower of Indonesia, also Sabah state in Malaysia,
as well as for the Surat Thani Province, Thailand.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafflesia